Apr 21, 2011

Extinction

Charting our age of extinctionThe disappearance of the Alaotra grebe of Madagascar marks the latest chapter in an era of biological calamities that may distinguish the 21st century among the planet's epochs. Scientists recognize five earlier cataclysms when Earth's species died out, including a calamity 65 million years ago that killed off the dinosaurs. The rapid encroachment of humans into animal habitats and the threat of global climate change is killing animal species faster than they can evolve. The Independent (London)